Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "Challenging Crossroads: A Critical Discourse Analysis on the Intersections of Race, Gender, Class, Ethnicity, Sexuality and Ensuing Discursive Counterreactions in Female Apartheid Narratives" "Yves T'Sjoen" "Department of Literary Studies" "Between 1948 and 1994, the National Party installed the apartheid regime in South Africa, based on the communicating vessels of racism and sexism, which permeated the entire country and its inhabitants. Its discriminatory effects were not only tangible for darker skinned people, but also for women, people of the lower class, ethnic minority groups and persons with a sexual orientation diverging from the heteronormative ideal. When two or more of such categories intersected, it had specific consequences for the people who were classified by it. One axis did not simply coexist with another, but both reinforced each other, resulting in multidimensional forms of oppression and inequality. The proposed research project focuses on those intersections of race, gender, class, ethnicity and sexuality, their outcomes and evolution over time, which to date have not been sufficiently addressed in systematic studies. To this end, a literary text corpus of 6 narratives by 3 South African female authors is subjected to a critical discourse analysis. The intersections and inequalities are examined on a discursive level by investigating how the apartheid discourse utilises language to justify them and enhance its hegemony. In addition, the counterreactions of the women writers will be analysed by elucidating their discursive practices which act as resistance against the apartheid system, drawing on anti-racism, feminism and egalitarianism." "When does ethnicity become important? Toward a comparative analytic of processes of symbolic boundary work and ‘ethnicization’ in two Flemish cities." "Karel Arnaut" "Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Universiteit Antwerpen" "This project proposes a comparative, ethnographic study of ethnicboundary work in two Flemish superdiverse city-contexts: Antwerpand Ghent. By ethnic boundary work we mean that actors use ethniccategories to distinguish between in- and out-groups ('us' and 'them').The study aims to shed light on the dynamics of group-formation andethnic division in superdiverse contexts and is informed by somewhatcontradictory findings in the literature. On the one hand, people insuperdiverse cities are said to seldom use ethnic categories andhardly problematize ethno-cultural differences. On the other hand,studies suggest that a significant number of citizens considerdiversity as problematic. To understand how and why ethnicitymatters in certain contexts but not in others, we seek to (A) focus ourcomparison on two Flemish cities, specific neighborhoods and livedspaces (as opposed to the more common focus on comparing nationstates)(B) study and compare both how people talk aboutdifferences between groups and how they behave in relation to intergroupcontacts; (C) make explicit the relationship between symboliccategorization and structural inequalities people face in thesecontexts; (D) take into account the intersectional, dynamicrelationship between ethnicity and other characteristics (e.g.. gender,age, social status) used to divide people into hierarchical categories.All steps contribute to the final goal (E) developing a comparativeanalytic of symbolic boundary work." "When does ethnicity become important? Toward a comparative analytic of processes of symbolic boundary work and 'ethnicization' in two Flemish cities." "Gert Verschraegen" "Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change" "This project proposes a comparative, ethnographic study of ethnic boundary work in two Flemish superdiverse city-contexts: Antwerp and Ghent. By ethnic boundary work we mean that actors use ethnic categories to distinguish between in- and out-groups ('us' and 'them'). The study aims to shed light on the dynamics of group-formation and ethnic division in superdiverse contexts and is informed by somewhat contradictory findings in the literature. On the one hand, people in superdiverse cities are said to seldom use ethnic categories and hardly problematize ethno-cultural differences. On the other hand, studies suggest that a significant number of citizens consider diversity as problematic. To understand how and why ethnicity matters in certain contexts but not in others, we seek to (A) focus our comparison on two Flemish cities, specific neighborhoods and lived spaces (as opposed to the more common focus on comparing nation-states) (B) study and compare both how people talk about differences between groups and how they behave in relation to inter-group contacts; (C) make explicit the relationship between symbolic categorization and structural inequalities people face in these contexts; (D) take into account the intersectional, dynamic relationship between ethnicity and other characteristics (e.g.. gender, age, social status) used to divide people into hierarchical categories. All steps contribute to the final goal (E) developing a comparative analytic of symbolic boundary work." "Considering ethnicity in forensic mental health care: Experiences of migrant and ethnic minority service users and their service providers" "Stijn Vandevelde, Freya Vander Laenen" "Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law, Department of Special Needs Education" "Despite their relative overrepresentation in a forensic psychiatric context, (the needs of) people from migrant and ethnic minority (MEM) groups have long been overlooked. Contrary to a large body of evidence in regular mental health care, it remains unclear how MEM forensic service users recover and how they desist from crime. The Good Lives Model, as a leading strengths-based rehabilitation framework, is regarded as a promising avenue. One could wonder though how forensic service users who identify themselves with MEM prioritize and conceptualize the Good Lives conceptions. In this study, we place MEM forensic service users’ perspectives on their rehabilitation needs and how these needs can be fulfilled (i.e. Good Lives conceptions) center stage. Additionally, we study forensic service providers’ needs towards MEM rehabilitation in forensic mental health services while identifying currently implemented promising practices. Next, these results will be validated by international experts in culturally sensitive mental health care and/or forensic mental health care. A mixed-method design will be used, consisting of (1) a qualitative study in a sample of MEM service users and service providers in forensic mental health services, and (2) an online Nominal Group Technique (NGT) for international experts to validate priorities in MEM forensic service user rehabilitation" "Chinese Philosophy and its Religious Minorities: ethnicity, religion, and national identity in modern Chinese thought and the discipline of ""ethnic minority philosophies""" "Bart Dessein" "Department of Languages and Cultures" "This project seeks to rethink the history of modern Chinese thought by providing the first ever study of the academic discipline of “ethnic minority philosophies” in the People’s Republic of China. It will focus on the much neglected relation between the imported categories of “philosophy” and “religion” and conceptions of ethnicity in twentieth-century and contemporary Chinese thought. The field of ethnic minority philosophies emerged in the 1980s after the Maoist period, but can be traced back to earlier conceptions of the nexus between philosophical, religious, and ethnic identity in the work of the first generations of academically trained Chinese philosophers in the Republican era (1911-1949). This relatively new discipline reflects the increasing ideological and institutional pressure to which (religious) minorities are subject in contemporary China. As such, the problem of ""minority philosophy"" will be studied against the backdrop of the ongoing revival of Confucian philosophy as a ""civil religion"" in the People's Republic. The project is organized around three central questions: 1) How has modern Chinese philosophy conceived of its relation to religion and ethnicity? 2) How did ""ethnic minority philosophy"" come into existence and what is its broader relevance for Chinese intellectual history? 3) What can the triangular relation between philosophy, religion, and ethnicity teach us about the practice and conditions of philosophy in contemporary China?" "Perceptions of the Self and the Other in contemporary Burundi. The salience of ethnicity in everyday interactions in a post-transition context." "Development processes, actors and policies" "Since independence (1962), the 'ethnic' conflict between Hutu and Tutsi in Burundi led to thousands of deaths on both sides. In 2000, the signature of the Arusha peace agreement inaugurated a transition period towards peace and democracy. Thanks to the agreement, political competition was de-ethnicized, and political parties no longer represented a single ethnic group. At the local level, people could progressively return to their occupations. Despite the absence of violence, these people had to deal with the consequences of war and ethnic violence. Given the circumstances of poverty, most of them opted for a peaceful cohabitation with those who perpetrated violence. The results obtained so far have been undermined by the 2015 crisis, which followed President Nkurunziza's unconstitutional bid for the third term. During the crisis, ethnic hatred has been injected in the political discourse, and started circulating in some milieus. Some responsiveness to ethnic appeals still existed. The question is whether, to what extent and how ordinary citizens are responsive to such discourses. Our research aims to understand the meaning and salience of ethnicity in Burundi's contemporary socio-political context. This will contribute to a better understanding of ethnicity, and will illuminate the dynamics of change in the meaning and salience of ethnicity. This will be relevant for scholars and policy-makers concerned with similar dynamics in other post-transition countries." "Ethnicity after mass violence. A study of the nature and transformation of ethnic 'groupness' in Rwanda and Burundi." "Development processes, actors and policies" "Despite the slogan 'never again', the world continues to be plagued by violence that is groupselective and aimed at the extermination of people belonging to certain social categories. This type of mass categorical violence often has an ethnic dimension involving members of majority and minority groups . Popular wisdom seems to be that ethnicity – or the emotional sense of belonging to a specific group and distinction from or even antipathy to outsiders – is the source of this type of violence. This research project aims to empirically demonstrate that this hypothesis is wrong. Instead, based on what is called a constructivist account of ethnicity, the proposed research activities aim to demonstrate that the salience of ethnicity is the outcome of mass categorical violence not its underlying cause. In addition, the research activities aim to verify whether, to what extent and why the salience of ethnicity following mass categorical violence is declining. To do so, the research project will examine 'ways of seeing the world' (cognition) and 'ways of acting in the world' (behavior). The former will be studied by making use of an available and unique database of over 700 life histories from people that experienced mass categorical violence in two case study countries: Rwanda and Burundi. The latter will be examined through the in-depth study of the daily behavior of a number of these individuals carefully selected based on an analysis of the available life history dataset." "Perceptions of the Self and the Other in contemporary Burundi. The salience of ethnicity in everyday interactions in a post-transition context" "Development processes, actors and policies" "Since independence (1962), the 'ethnic' conflict between Hutu and Tutsi in Burundi led to thousands of deaths on both sides. In 2000, the signature of the Arusha peace agreement inaugurated a transition period towards peace and democracy. Thanks to the agreement, political competition was de-ethnicized, and political parties no longer represented a single ethnic group. At the local level, people could progressively return to their occupations. Despite the absence of violence, these people had to deal with the consequences of war and ethnic violence. Given the circumstances of poverty, most of them opted for a peaceful cohabitation with those who perpetrated violence. The results obtained so far have been undermined by the 2015 crisis, which followed President Nkurunziza's unconstitutional bid for the third term. During the crisis, ethnic hatred has been injected in the political discourse, and started circulating in some milieus. Some responsiveness to ethnic appeals still existed. The question is whether, to what extent and how ordinary citizens are responsive to such discourses. Our research aims to understand the meaning and salience of ethnicity in Burundi's contemporary socio-political context. This will contribute to a better understanding of ethnicity, and will illuminate the dynamics of change in the meaning and salience of ethnicity. This will be relevant for scholars and policy-makers concerned with similar dynamics in other post-transition countries." "Negotiating Group Identities Along Ethnicity and Religion. Case: On- and Offline Networks in The Low Countries." "Leen d'Haenens" "Leuven School for Mass Communication Research, Institute for Media Studies" "At a time when ethnic inter-group attitudes are changing, uneven integration of (and within) ethnic cultural minorities in general and Muslims in particular into the socioeconomic life of European host countries and conflicting values are becoming increasingly important, fuelling antagonism between majority and minority groups. This research aims to increase our understanding of how Muslim ethnic-cultural minorities share knowledge, values and goals, and position themselves with regard to public policy. This research simultaneously examines media coverage, online media use, involvement of Muslim ethnic-cultural minority groups in on- and offline social networks, and the overall network patterns. The analysis of these phenomena is situated in the Low Countries (Flanders and the Netherlands). The research aims at the following: 1) Through cross-national comparisons, the identification of shifts in public policy discourses on integration and immigration in the Low Countries over the last decade, and the delineation of crisis moments vs. routine reporting. The Dutch-Flemish comparison offers two different normative frameworks: clearcut assimilationism (NL) and the Flemish public policy discourse sometimes taking an assimilationist approach and other times supporting ethnic diversity; 2) Through comparisons between the mainstream media agenda and minorities’ voices online, the identification of the most salient actors and issues, the degree of convergence or divergence between them, and the diversity within both spheres in the two contexts; 3) Through social network analysis and interviews with selected members of ethnic discussion forums, the unraveling of the structure of online connections among ethnic and cultural minorities and between majority and minority groups." "Comprehensive investigation of mycotoxin exposure biomarkers by using metabolomics to elucidate mycotoxin human toxicokinetics" "Arnau Vidal Corominas" "Department of Bio-analysis" "Biomarker analysis has been proposed to assess human exposure to xenobiotics by using concentrations of the parent compounds and/or metabolites in biological matrices. However, the gap of information on human mycotoxin absorption and excretion profiles generates many discrepancies to link mycotoxin (biomarkers) concentrations found in biological fluids with the mycotoxin dietary intake. Toxicokinetic studies permit to elucidate the process of the uptake of dietary mycotoxins by the body, their biotransformation, the distribution and the elimination of the mycotoxins and metabolites, nonetheless, inter-individual metabolism differences have been detected. Human toxicokinetic models which take into account inter-individual differences have not been developed yet for any mycotoxin. For this reason, intervention study with deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, patulin and citrinin will be performed to get toxicokinetics models. The obtained models will permit to determine: a) the preferred (set of) urinary/blood biomarker(s) of exposure; b) the preferred urinary/blood collection period, c) a method to estimate & link the dietary exposure to these mycotoxins and d) set-up adequate biomonitoring programs taking into account inter-individual differences (gender and ethnicity). Moreover, in vivo samples will be analysed by HRMS to elucidate and identify new predomimant metabolites."